On Being Brave
by Armageddon Angel
Summary: Sometimes, even the smallest action can be consider brave. Naruto/Hinata


On Being Brave

Sometimes, even the smallest action can be consider brave.

Main Characters: Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata

Setting: Sometime between Tsunade becoming Hokage and Sasuke defecting.

I got the inspiration from the manga Horitsuba Gakuen. This was just hilarious. So I figured I'd use this for the premise of my story

Note: I have only a passing familiarity with Naruto so if they are out of character, my bad.. It's my girlfriend who watches the show. The reason for the fic is because the two of us had a contest and the loser had to write a fic for the winner. Needless to say, I lost. So here it is. I posted this on fanfiction for you guys. Enjoy.

* * *

Naruto was walking to Ichiraku's from doing some formation exercises with Kakashi. To the blond-haired ninja, formation practice beats pointless missions like trying to find cats or washing dogs. How was that suppose to help him become a great ninja like the 4th Hokage?

He was so close to the ramen shop, Naruto could smell it. Due to the fact that he was led by the scent of his favorite dish though, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and ran into a sturdy object.

This sturdy object happened to be the man that he called Ero-Sennin, Jiraiya.

Naruto gasped. "Ero-sennin." He shouted.

Jiraiya never did like when Naruto called him that, especially in the company of beautiful women. "Oi, I thought I told you never to call me that. It sends the wrong impression."

Naruto squinted and muttered to himself. "It describes you perfectly." He looked at the man who taught him briefly. "By the way, what are you doing here?"

Jiraiya had a lecherous smile on his face. "What are you, stupid? Today is February 13th?"

Naruto was confused. "So what?"

"You don't know, do you? You're just like a kid." The Legendary Sannin goaded, lowering himself to the level of a child.

That inflamed Naruto. "I am not a kid. I'm the man who will become Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, believe it."

Jiraiya wasn't the least impressed. "Whatever, whatever. It's not like you know what tomorrow is, anyways.

Naruto was indignant. "Fine. It's not like I wanted to know what tomorrow is in the first place." With that, he stomped off very dramatically.

Jiraiya chuckled a bit. "If you want to know, Naruto, tomorrow is VAL-LENT-TINE'S DAY." He responded, accentuating every syllable.

That stopped Naruto in his tracks. "Oh, that's right." He remembered. February 14th was Valentine's day. In all the craziness that has happened to Konoha in the past month or so, it slipped Naruto's mind.

Valentine's Day was never a stop-everything day for the blond ninja. Not once did he ever receive a Valentine's chocolate. He figured that it had to do with the way that he always acted out in class and the fact that his teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, was more popular. (Although, he never realized that a third reason that he had never receive a chocolate before was because the parents of the children knew that he was the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox and, as such, told their children to avoid him.)

"I know what Valentine's Day is. That's when the girls give chocolate to the boys that they like."

Jiraiya scoffed. " How naive. You don't realize the real meaning behind this."

Naruto blinked. "What do you mean 'the real meaning', Ero-Sennin?"

Inwardly, Jiraiya smirked. If Naruto was going to bug him, he might as well get some entertainment in the process. Plus, Naruto's a born sucker. He'd believe that cats are actually aliens from outer space and that they have come to take over the Earth if the story was told in a plausible manner.

"I'm not going to tell you. You're not old enough." Jiraiya smirked and walked away from the inflamed Naruto.

"Tell me." Naruto pleaded

"NO."

"Tell me."

"NO."

This exchange went on for several minutes as Jiraiya moved them away from the busy streets and towards a slightly forested area, lest Naruto get the idea to use Oiroke no Jutsu in front of the people. That would cast Jiraiya in a bad light. He may be a super pervert and have no shame but he had his reputation as one of the Legendary Sannin to uphold.

Naruto got frustrated. Ero-sennin was being difficult. Well, if he wasn't going to tell him peacefully, then he'll have to use force.

**KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU**

Jiraiya was thrown off-guard. Wasn't Naruto going to use Oiroke no Jutsu?

**HAREM NO JUTSU**

Jiraiya's pervert meter went through the roof. A bunch of naked women calling him Jiraiya-sama in a teasing tone, surrounding him. "Jiraiya-sama" the clones cooed. "Please tell me the real meaning of Valentine's Day."

"You win." Jiraiya relented.

With that, Naruto released the jutsu.

"But seriously, what do you call that jutsu, Naruto?"

Naruto was proud that he was able to best that guy. Harem no Jutsu is unbeatable. "I call it Harem no Jutsu."

"That was such a perfect technique." The Legendary Sannin gushed. "Truly has given me inspiration for my writing."

The blond ninja grimaced. "You don't have to look so happy." He muttered. Then he remembered why he did it in the first place. "Now tell me the real meaning of Valentine's Day."

Jiraiya smirked. Now Naruto was going to believe anything he said. "Fine. You've earned it." Jiraiya inhaled dramatically, setting himself be quite grandiose. "You may think that Valentine's Day is just girls giving gifts to boys. But it's much deeper than that."

"Deeper?"

"Of course. It's filled with battles, conspiracies and betrayals."

Naruto was totally engrossed in the stories. "Battles? Conspiracies? Betrayals?"

"Of course. Girls take on these battles with chocolate as their only weapons and a strong heart as their only means of defense. They make them with all of their might and strength for the one and only shot they have. They secretly make plans to launch their attacks, perhaps in broad daylight for the braver ones or sneaking in the shadows for the others. Of course, it isn't often that the girls are free from competition. Sometimes they have to challenge other girls. Girls in love can be quite a scary sight."

Naruto could attest to that. When he accidentally kissed Sasuke, he felt a chill down his back like something or someone wanted to maim him. He'd take a fight with Orochimaru any day than stand between a girl and her love.

Jiraiya continued talking. "Of course, the more chocolate a girl makes means the more battles she has to fight. And there can only be one winner. They will use everything in their arsenal to win."

Naruto interrupted. "But if that's so, Ero-sennin, why are you here?"

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world. This is great inspiration for my novel."

Naruto had a new appreciation of Valentine's Day and of Ero-sennin. As he started to walk away, Jiraiya called out to him.

"Oi, Naruto, don't interfere with the girls' fight. You'll regret it if you do."

Naruto waved back and ran to where he was going in the first place, Ichiraku.

Jiraiya smirked. Naruto was so gullible. "It'll be fun to watch the results, eh Kakashi?" Jiraiya called out to the ninja he knew was there.

Kakashi jumped from the trees and appeared before Jiraiya, his nose buried in one of the Icha Icha series. "Was it a good idea to tell Naruto that, Jiraiya-sama? He's quite dense. He doesn't understand all of what you said was a joke."

"What do you mean 'a joke'? That was the truth, just a tiny bit exaggerated. Love is a battlefield, after all."

"Wasn't that a line from Icha Icha Violence?" Kakashi asked?

"You know your Icha Icha." Unexpectedly, Jiraiya turned in the direction which Naruto left. "But it would be funny to see how Naruto acts with information."

* * *

Hinata had finished her training with Kiba and Shino. She wanted to create a technique that was all her own so she wouldn't be a burden on everyone. So far, she was getting the hang of extending her chakra from her body in combination with her Juken. But it was far from complete. In any case, the exertion had tired her today. However, that she lasted longer than yesterday was an accomplishment in her eyes. Soon she'll be able to stand strong in everyone's eyes... well, his in particular.

"We should stop for today." Shino called out to Hinata. "That's because you are exhausted and also because it is almost time for dinner."

"That's right." Kiba chimed in as well. "It might take you a while to create a new technique. No need to rush."

Hinata was grateful to the two of them to supervise her training. She figured that, most likely, she couldn't do this on her own, or if she could, it would take even longer.

As Team 8 departed from the training grounds to the streets of Konoha, they were bombarded by the clamoring noise of girls trying to get last minute gifts for tomorrow.

"The streets look like an ant colony." Shino remarked off-handedly. "Why is that? It's because the people are scurrying about like the ants do, collecting the things needed for the colony to prosper."

Kiba was always a bit put-off by Shino's constant bug analogies. "You know, some people would just say that the people are...." Then Kiba scoffed. "Never mind." He wasn't going to question Shino's personality quirks.

"But why are they running like that?" Hinata asked.

"Have you forgotten, Hinata? Tomorrow is Valentine's Day." Kiba told, a big grin on his face.

Hinata gasped. In the midst of all her training, she had completely forgotten about Valentine's Day. That day, out of all the days of the years, filled her with dismay. For as long as she could remember, she never had any courage to give chocolate to the one she liked most. Just even thinking about him at the moment made her red in the face.

"Oi, Hinata." Kiba called out to her. "Hinata! I swear. She always gets like this."

"She only becomes flustered when she thinks about Naruto." Shino supplied. "That's because she likes him."

"That's true. But seriously, Naruto has to be the densest person ever not to notice that Hinata likes him." Kiba laughed

"That's true." Shino answered.

Kiba prodded Hinata. "So are you going to make some chocolates, Hinata?" He teased.

Hinata blushed. "Kiba-kun."

"Not even for that special someone." The teasing dripped down like honey.

If possible, Hinata blushed further. Then her milky-white eyes looked downcast. "I don't think I could do it."

Shino placed a friendly hand on Hinata's shoulder. "A caterpillar can only become a butterfly when it emerges from its cocoon. It must be brave to make its first step outside of the world it had once known as a new creature. Simply put, it must be brave to do something it had never done before."

As odd as Shino's analogy was, it did the trick. Hinata didn't want to be the same person that she was before the Chunnin Exams. She wanted to be brave so as not to violate her way of the nina.

Hinata took a deep breath. "I'll do it."

Hinata quickly made her way to one of the confectioner's stands. She wanted to make the chocolate herself. If she made it herself, perhaps Naruto would appreciate it.

Kiba looked at Shino. "You think she's actually going to go through with it?"

"If it were the old Hinata, then I don't think so. But the new Hinata..." Shino left his sentence hanging.

* * *

Naruto, after eating his fill of ramen, was walking the streets of Konoha. It seemed as though Ero-Sennin was right about Valentine's Day being filled with battles. Girls were fighting each other over who was going to give chocolates to whom. In the crowd, he spied two familiar girls. One of them was Haruno Sakura and the other was Yamanaka Ino. Apparently, they were in what could only be called as a tussle. Even from the distance that he was at, Naruto could clearly hear the two girls shouting at each other.

"I'm his teammate, so I'm going to be the one who's going to give him chocolate." Sakura shouted.

Naruto's eyes glistened. Could it be that Sakura-chan had finally recognized him as a man wanted to give him chocolate?

"What are you talking about, forehead-girl?" Ino shouted back. "It's going to be me who gives my chocolate to him."

Naruto was worried now. Two girls were fighting over him with chocolate as their weapons. Valentine's Day was getting to be scary. But still, he was excited. He could already already see himself eating the chocolate that Sakura-chan made for him. His mouth watered from the taste of the imaginary chocolate prepared so lovingly by the girl he liked most.

"I've been with him since we were divided into teams, Ino-pig. The power of love triumphs over all."

"Just because you are Sasuke-kun's teammate doesn't give you the right to be smug."

Just then, Naruto's dreams of chocolate were deflated. Damn that Sasuke. He's always getting in the way of him and Sakura-chan. Naruto stomped off angrily, mad as Sasuke for taking away his chance at chocolate made by Sakura-chan, even though he personally didn't do anything.

As he was sulking, the blond ninja saw a familiar silhouette. It was Hyuga Hinata. Naruto was surprised. So Hinata was going to fight, too.

She seemed so engrossed in whatever she was doing that she didn't even notice that he was behind her.

"Oi, Hinata." He called out to her.

Hinata turned around, surprised. She never expected to meet him here today. Hinata felt the blood rush to her face. All coherent speech left her.

"N-N-Naruto-kun." She squeaked quite indignantly. Hinata instinctively tried to find someplace to hide but couldn't.

"What are you doing here, Hinata?"

She was so flustered that she couldn't even answer him. "Um, well, that is..."

Naruto noticed that Hinata had the ingredients for making chocolate. "Oh, you are going to make chocolate, too."

Hinata blushed furiously. "Yeah." She whispered.

"So you are going to fight, too?" Naruto asked.

Hinata looked confused. How did the conversation turn to fighting? "Huh?"

"Don't worry. You're stronger than you think." Nartuo encouraged her. "I'm sure you can take on anyone."

"Huh?"

Naruto put his hand on hers, not even realizing the effect that it had on her.

"So fight with all your heart, believe it." Naruto tried to inspire her not to give up the fight.

Hinata's nervousness was only matched by her confusion over what Naruto was saying. Naruto was giving her courage once again. But what was Naruto talking about with fighting. Was it a metaphor or something?

Hinata decided to do it. She would make chocolate for Naruto.

* * *

The Hyuga estate's kitchen was bustling with activity. Hinata had never made chocolate before this. She put the ingredients that were required into a pot and put it on simmer. As she was making the chocolate, she imagined his smiling face. She imagined how he would react.

_"Wow, Hinata. This chocolate is awesome, believe it." The dream Naruto exclaimed as he bit into the chocolate. "I never knew you could cook."_

_"Well..." Her dream-self stuttered. "Is it really that good?"_

_"Are you kidding? I've never had anything this good."_

_The dream Hinata twiddled her thumbs. "I'm glad that you like it, Naruto-kun."_

_"But Hinata, why did you make chocolate for me?" The dream Naruto stared at her so intensely that Hinata thought she would fall into his cerulean gaze._

_"Well... um... ano... that is..." Hinata felt that it would be better to say it all at once. "I like you, Naruto-kun."_

_The dream Naruto was shocked. Then he smiled. "I like you, too, Hinata."_

_That made the dream Hinata happy. "Naruto-kun." She whispered in admiration._

"Hinata-sama." Another voice called from her dream-like state. It was her cousin, Neji.

"Neji-nii-san!" She squeaked. She never expected him to be here at this moment. "Um, may I ask what it is that has brought you to the kitchen?

Neji looked at his cousin with his milky white eyes and discerned that she was distraught with something. Much has changed since the Chunnin exams. Neji respected her more, not as a member of the main family but as a person in her own right. During the preliminaries, she held her ground, even in the face of his power. The old Hinata would have given up without even bothering to fight. But once Uzumaki Naruto had encouraged her, she had a look in her Byakugan eyes that he had never seen.

Right now, her eyes were the same as when they fought each other, although now it was to a different purpose.

"I came because I smelled something different in the kitchen. When I saw you here, I decided to observe what you were doing." Neji explained. He looked at the stuff that was pulled out and came to the assumption that Hinata was making something.

"Hinata-sama, may I ask what are you making?" Neji asked, already getting an idea what she was doing, considering what day it was today.

Hinata looked down, a sign that she was embarrassed. "I'm making chocolate." She whispered so softly that Neji almost didn't hear her.

Neji thought as much. He noticed during the Chunnin exams that Hinata had given Naruto a medicinal cream. The older Hyuga knew that Hinata had a nervous habit when she was doing something difficult. Her stutter would become more pronounced. He could see from his standpoint that it took all of her courage just to do that. Neji was starting to understand for whom the chocolate was going to be made.

"The chocolate is for Naruto, isn't it?" Neji asked, but it was more of a statement.

Hinata's ears turned red. She didn't even bother to deny it.

It was quite awkward to say the least. A month or two ago, he wouldn't have even bothered with her, aside from the expected pleasantries that were required of a branch family member to a main family one.. She was from the main family; he was from the branch family. They lived two totally different lives. Yet, strangely, it was because of Naruto that the Hyuga clan seemed to be on the verge of reconciliation. Something unfathomable was happening all because Naruto defeated him. But, he was sure that Hinata's feelings started long before then. Neji respected Hinata's feelings. Such feelings are what made her stronger.

"Hinata-sama, the chocolate is overflowing." Neji informed her, removing the awkwardness with panic.

Hinata quickly tried to save the bubbling chocolate. Some of it frothed over and spilled onto the stove Hinata grabbed a paper towel and was about to wipe the stove with it when Neji restrained her hand.

"Turn the stove off first, Hinata-sama. Otherwise, the paper might actually catch on fire." Neji told her.

As he said that, the chocolate run-off caught on fire. Apparently, Hinata put more corn oil than necessary. It was a small fire at the moment but time was of the essence

"It's on fire." Hinata gasped.

Neji turned off the stove while Hinata soaked a towel cloth in warm water and placed it on the flame to smother it.

After the mess was cleaned, Hinata and Neji breathed a sigh of relief. In any case, none of the chocolate in the pot was burned. It was still usable. Thank goodness for small victories.

"I think I can still use it." Hinata exhaled.

Neji made an uninterested noise, but really he was happy for Hinata-sama. That guy better appreciate the effort Hinata-sama had put into this.

* * *

Morning came. It was Judgment Day, at least in Naruto's mind. From what Ero-Sennin had told him, today was the day when the girls would be fighting their battles. It was kind of scary but exciting at the same time. Off-handedly he wondered how did chocolate fit in the equation of fighting. Pushing that to the back of his mind, Naruto decided to look around to see how the fights were going.

When Naruto stepped outside of his apartment, the sight wasn't like anything he imagined it would be. He saw very little activity on the streets. The streets were quieter today than they were yesterday. Perhaps the fights were taking place elsewhere.

As the blond ninja was looking around, he chanced upon a former female classmate of his giving chocolate to a guy he didn't know. Although Naruto couldn't remember the name of the girl, he remember how brash and outspoken she was. Now, she looked like a dreamy, cooing girl as she was giving chocolate to that guy. What happened to all of the battles that Ero-Sennin said there would be.

This was the case every time he saw a boy and a girl together. If this was the fighting that Ero-Sennin said that there would be, then this was a gyp.

At that moment, he heard the running of footsteps. Well, footsteps wouldn't do the sound justice. This was more of a stampede and it was heading Naruto's way.

In an instant, two girls had ran up to him and cornered him against the wall. Naruto was scared. Ero-Sennin told him that he would regret interfering in the girls' fight. What was he to do in this situation?

The two girls in question were Sakura and Ino. The two girls had surrounded him in a way that there was no escape. Naruto was concerned for his life. Girls in love can be quite scary.

"Hey, Naruto" Sakura spoke first. "Have you seen Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto's outwardly face was one of shock but inwardly, he grimaced. Of course, she was looking for Sasuke. He was torn between fear and anger.

"No, Naruto. Tell me, Naruto." Ino demanded.

The two girls got into a fight of words. Naruto was about to use this opportunity to get away when the girls stronghanded him against the wall. Well, here comes that fight that Ero-Sennin talked about yesterday.

Sakura, determined not to let Ino beat her today, decided to use her womanly charm on Naruto. "Naruto, if you tell me where Sasuke-kun is, I'll take you out on a mini-date."

Naruto's eyes were filled with stars. A mini-date was a date nonetheless.

"No, Naruto. Tell me." Ino flailed, not wanting Sakura to beat her in love. "If you do, I'll treat you to ramen for the next month."

Naruto was torn again, this time between his heart and his stomach. Which was more important to him, the date or the ramen? Also, how was he going to tell these two girls that he had no idea where that guy was at the moment? They looked like they weren't going to take NO for an answer.

But then, he got a great idea. He found a way to escape and get the date and ramen at the same time. He never did like lying, but for the sake of his ramen and his date, he would swallow his pride and do it.

"Well, Sasuke told me that he was going to train by the Hokage Monument area." Naruto lied.

The girls believed him. It sounded like something Sasuke would do.

"But you better hurry. He said that he was only going to stay there for an hour."

"Eh?" Sakura gasped. "How long ago was it since you saw Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto put his index finger on his chin as if he were in deep thought. "Maybe 40-45 minutes ago."

Ino gasped. "Then I better hurry." With that, she ran towards the Hokage Monument as fast as she could.

"I won't let you beat me, Ino-pig." Sakura retorted to the retreating figure of Ino as she ran after her.

Naruto sighed. They believed him. Then he remembered. "But what about my..." The blond shook his head. There goes his date and his ramen. But at least he got away with his life. Naruto had to be grateful for that. Valentine's Day sure was scary.

* * *

Hinata had finished wrapping up the chocolate in the handmade box she prepared. Taking one last look in the mirror at her appearance, she left the Hyuga estate. Today, she was going to be brave. Today, she was going to give Naruto the chocolate that she spent all night prepare.

The first thing that Hinata did after she left the estate was to use Byakugan to find out where Naruto was at the moment. Because she had no idea where he could be now, it made the search difficult. But that was okay. She needed time to prepare herself for meeting Naruto. Right now, she had no idea what she was going to say when she gave the object of her affections the chocolate. Hinata needed time.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to look around Konoha for Naruto, all the while formulating what she wanted to say to him.

* * *

Naruto was quite jealous of some of the boys that he knew. Everyone of the boys received at least one chocolate. Shikamaru had one delivered by mail from Suna and one from a trainee in the codebreaker's unit. Kiba received a couple as well. Even Fuzzybrows got one. Sasuke received a ton that were delivered to his house, which was one of the reasons that he wasn't staying at his house today. Everyone but him.... Even Kakashi-sensei got a few which got him to wonder if the girls knew something about the face that his sensei always masked.

The blond ninja put that to the back of his mind. It also seemed as though the fights were finished. He hadn't seen anything else that resembled what he experienced with Sakura and Ino. That encounter shaved years off his life.

As he was walking, someone bumped into him. He looked at the figure smaller than him. It was Hinata.

Hinata looked up at the figure without realizing who it was and apologized. "I'm very sorrry." Then she realized to whom she was apologizing. "N-N-Naruto-kun" She stuttered.

Naruto looked at her intently, his eyes squinting as though in thought. Hinata didn't seem the worst for the wear. If she had just been in a fight, her clothes would have at least been dirtier. But her clothes weren't the least bit wrinkled. Does that mean that she became stronger and he didn't realize it.

Hinata was flustered. She hadn't thought of a single thing to say during the walk. She was so nervous about just meeting Naruto that all coherent thought left her. But she had to be brave. Like Shino had told her, a caterpillar can only become a butterfly when it steps out of the cocoon.

"Um, Naruto-kun." She whispered.

"What is it, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata took a deep breath. The box with the chocolate that she made was in her hands, clutched to her chest. Today, she was going to do it. For all of the Valentine's Days opportunities that she missed, she was going to do.

She shoved the box in Naruto's field of vision, her head bowed. She couldn't bear to see the look on his face.

Naruto was confused. Why was Hinata shoving a box in his face? "Is that for me?" He asked.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Awesome. And it isn't even my birthday yet." He answered in joy.

Hinata was slightly confused. Didn't Naruto know what today was?

Naruto took the box from her and opened it. Inside there was chocolate in the shape of a whirlpool, the same kind as the one on his orange jacket. "Chocolate." His mouth was salivating. The blond ninja couldn't wait to sink his teeth into it. "Can I eat it?" He asked.

Hinata, still looking down, nodded her head.

"Thank you." As he bit into the chocolate, Hinata spared a glance at Naruto's smiling face. He looked like he was enjoying the chocolate.

"Wow, Hinata. This chocolate is awesome, believe it." Naruto said, just like the Naruto from Hinata's daydream.

"Well..." She stuttered just like in the dream. "Is it really that good?"

"Are you kidding? I've never had anything this good."

Hinata twiddled her thumbs. "I'm glad that you like it, Naruto-kun."

"But Hinata, why did you make chocolate for me?" Naruto stared at her so intensely, just like the dream. Everything was repeating just like the dream.

"I... um... that is... well..." For all of the bravery that she had so far in just giving Naruto the chocolate, Hinata couldn't think of a single thing to say.

Naruto figured that her stutter was due to the fight she had just encountered. Since today, according to Ero-Sennin, was the day where girls experienced battles, conspiracies and betrayals, Naruto assumed that this was all part of that. "You didn't have to fight, Hinata."

Hinata's nervousness was replaced by confusion again. From where was Naruto getting that she was in a fight? "What?" She questioned

"You don't have to fight for my sake." Naruto told her. "I'm pretty strong, believe it."

"Huh?" She had no idea where Naruto was going with this.

"So you don't have to fight for me." Then Naruto put a friendly hand on Hinata's shoulder and flashed her a winning smile, oblivious to the effect that it had on her. "But if you find yourself in trouble, you can count on me to help you. I don't go back on my word. That's what being a ninja means to me, believe it."

Hinata was deeply confused. Who was fighting? What was he saying?

Then she just smiled. Naruto didn't say anything about how he felt about her. But also, he talked about something weird like fighting. Oh well. At least she was happy with herself. She did what she accomplished to do. She didn't chicken out or run away; she faced this head on and even though the result was nothing like she thought it would be (not even close), she was still proud.

* * *

Unknown to the two of them, Jiraiya and Kakashi were watching them from a distance. Kakashi just watched in disbelief. He couldn't believe how dense Naruto was. Jiraiya, however, was on the verge of laughter. He was writing down the exchange, word for word.

"That Naruto" Kakashi mumbled. " Naruto didn't get that by accepting the chocolate, it meant that he was accepting her feelings."

"What did you expect, Kakashi? This is Naruto."

"But you spurned him on, Jiraiya-sama."

"At least it was interesting." The white-haired Sannin smirked. "That exchange is going down in my new Icha Icha series. The fans will love it."

Kakashi smirked. He looked forward to reading it.

* * *

As Hinata was about to walk away from Naruto after failing to attract Naruto's affection. Naruto called out to her.

"Thanks for the chocolate, Hinata. It was very good." He smiled.

Hinata blushed. "You're welcome." She stammered.

Then Naruto averted his eyes from Hinata's. Hinata looked closely and saw that there was a faint blush on his cheeks. "You know, you are very nice. Plus you made some good chocolate." He turned towards Hinata. "A girl like you is the same type of girl that I like."

The words echoed in Hinata's mind. A girl like you... girl that I like. She smiled. So she did have a shot at Naruto after all. That made her happy. So she wouldn't give up either. Little by little, day by day, Hinata will make Naruto acknowledge her so that one day, he might like her back.

Hinata made first step in becoming the butterfly that Shino mentioned by being brave.

* * *

Thus endeth the one-shot.

Sequel? Maybe. That depends on the girlfriend. Maybe on you guys as well.

Feedback? Love to hear it. Tell me what you liked about it. What you didn't like. Whatever.


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